God bless,

Wes

View Message HERE

Here are few keys that may help you. These have proven to help me stay in the Word and encounter more of God in my day to day Christian walk. This, by the way, is His supreme desire for all of us. To encounter Him in our hearts and minds thus unlocking our love to be spent on Him.

The Bible is the primary way in which God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. Not the only way, but the primary way. Therefore we don’t have an option in whether or not we’re going to be students of His Word. We sign up because we long to know Him and know His heart for us. He will help us.

I approach the Bible as if it were God’s personal letter written to me. As if it showed up one day in my mailbox, a letter personalized for me from God. This is right for you too. The Word of God is God’s Word for you. It’s profoundly personal.

As I open the letter and begin reading I remind myself of His great desire, to reveal Himself to me. This is why I open the book, to discover God. There’s more to Bible Study than simply getting through the “devotion” for the day or reading the Book through in one year. There’s more than retaining a few cool stories to be recited later. There’s more. There’s the revelation of the Creator. We were made for encounter. We were made for God. As we read we are invited in to encountering the very Author Himself, the Creator Himself, Jesus.

So I remind myself constantly of the goal of my study. It’s not only to retain information or to complete my devotion, it’s to experience the Person who gave His life for me, He loves me more than I know. This is my main motive, this is main goal of Bible reading. I open the pages and go from verse to verse hungry for my heart to connect to truth and my mind to be exhilarated with God.

I have to resist my own religious tendencies of changing my goal and motive. It’s not to simply “check the box” that my Bible reading is completed for the day so I can feel good about myself. I don’t want to just “check the box.” I want more in my motive. I want more for my heart. I want Him.

Jesus told the pharisees in John 5:39-40 a very sobering thing as it relates to Bible study with the wrong motive. 39 You search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. 

In essence Jesus was saying that Bible study without encountering the Author Himself or talking to the Author Himself is fruitless. It’s not about the motions of Bible-reading discipline. It’s about connecting with Jesus. This is what will bolster our heart and life in God. This is where eternal life is found.

1) Resist the religious approach to the Scriptures of simply going through the motions without reaching with your heart and mind to talk and connect with Jesus while we read.

2) Keep your goal to be “encounter” vs. “checking the box”

3) Read slow and when your heart moves or your mind is inspired pause and dialogue with Jesus. Resist the feeling of having to get through your devotion. Sometimes you may not complete the devotion material for the day. Who cares?! If it’s because your encountering the heart of Jesus it’s worth it! That’s the true goal.

4) Be motivated more about your heart being alive in God compared to memorizing all the right scriptures. I love information but I want more than information. I want my heart to be alive in God.

I’ll leave you with this verse. This is the fruit of true God-encountering Bible Study. Luke 24:32 “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked to us on the road and while He opened the scriptures to us!” 

Lord open the Bible to us that our hearts might burn within us.

Be blessed,

Don’t give up.

Wes

For more on this you can watch/listen a message I spoke and/or download more notes by clicking HERE.

So Amanda and I are back to the glorious waiting in the adoption process. We’re so grateful for the many people that responded immediately to our need and then insisted that we keep the funds for a future adoption when we notified them that this particular one had changed direction. Praise God for generous people that love kids.

We’re waiting and praying.

Wes, Amanda, Owen and Maci

We’ll need $30k total of which we have $10k ready to go that we’ve already set back for this. We weren’t expecting the double cost but here we go!

Pray and Give if you can. If we don’t get the babies we’ll be waiting again. Apparently this can happen at any moment, keeps it interesting for sure

Any questions let me know.

Thanks for reading, praying and standing with us.

God bless the Martin Family of KC!!!!

Wes

Around the sixth month of pregnancy we began Level II ultrasounds as most twin pregnancies do. We found out that something was wrong with the girls. When scanning the head of Charli (baby B as we knew her then), the specialist began to notice excess fluid on the brain. As we went from week to week the diagnosis changed and adjusted as we would see more as the girls grew. We soon found that Ali was also affected.

Over the next couple of months we went on a roller coaster ride of hope, fear, sadness, and peace. It ended up that both girls suffered the lack of formation of the brain altogether. Still to this day there is no known reason why. The specialists all agree that somewhere around day 3 or 4 of conception something went wrong causing the brains to suffer correct formation.

Charli and Ali were born on Wednesday, November 1st, 2006 early in the afternoon and some early MRI’s confirmed what we were seeing. Neither of our daughters had formed a brain beyond a bit of brain stem. Charli lived until after 4pm on the following Monday, the 6th, and Ali passed away early in the morning ten days later on the 16th. We only got a short amount of time with them but the time was profoundly impacting, joyous, affectionate, and satisfying. We would not trade the time spent with our daughters for anything.

Amanda said it best as we were holding Charli moments after she died, “I only got 5 days with you and I would do it all over again for 5 days.” If we could do it all over again for only a few short days we would not hesitate. Charli and Ali were an absolute delight and our hearts were and still are filled with love towards them. That little time changed our lives forever. Our daughters taught us how to love better and honor life to a whole new level.

His Kindness

About a week before the girls were born the Lord gave me another dream about them. He had been very silent through the trial of their sickness thus far so we were both very excited that He had finally broke the silence and spoken to us. In the dream I was in a glowing white room and both Charli and Ali were there with me. They were around the age of 6 or 7.

Charli had brown curly hair and was walking around pointing her finger pretending to be the boss and delegating people around. I remember she was talking as fast as she was moving and pointing. Ali was shorter and had straight hair. She sat over in the corner and smiled as she watched her sister do her thing. I could sense her contentment and her purity of mind as she watched Charli. In the dream I was overwhelmed with joy by being in their presence. I did not want it to end.

In the small amount of time that both girls were alive we were amazed of how their personalities confirmed what we saw in the dream. Charli was clearly the independent leader. She was always sprawled out, did not want to be tucked in tight, and was content whether she was being held or stretched out alone. If you tried to tuck her in and swaddle her, she would find a way out.

Ali was just the opposite. When we put the two girls together, she was always cuddling up next to her sister. She loved to be tucked in tight and always buried her face anywhere she could get it. As we watched and interacted with them, we were so grateful to the Lord that He knew them perfectly and had perfect destinies for them. We were also very grateful as parents that He let us in on who they were and a bit of what they would be like. Amanda and I look forward every single day to meet them again either when we die or when Jesus returns, whichever comes first.

Thank you for praying for us through this tragedy and continuing to do so. Losing a loved one prematurely is very difficult and has unique challenges individually and on one’s marriage so we’re grateful for your continual prayer. Hundreds of you committed to pray for their healing and Amanda and I. Words cannot express such gratitude. We were loved well and our girls were loved well. God, in His faithfulness as our Father in heaven, sustained us with His peace, affection and hope and continues to do so. It is times like these that knowing Jesus and the bigger picture enables one to go through the furnace of affliction. The Lord is good and He is loyal to us. Praise God for being who He is.

To see a video and some pictures of the girls click HERE.

God bless,

Wes

If you’re like me many times I feel the pressure to get through the study, complete the chapter, or get to the next book of the Bible. It’s like an unspoken presence that insists I get done so I can check the box that I completed my study or devotion for the day. At that moment I must ask myself what my goal is in the Bible study. Is my main goal to complete the devotion so I can feel good about my accomplishment? If so this will lead us to a Christianity based on rituals, rules and disciplines that lead to no true life in God.

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 You are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

This is a very straight forward verse about not relationally connecting with God in the Bible. Jesus is speaking to the many religious people of His day that had a rigorous lifestyle of studying the scriptures. He tells them they have missed the mark. Their goal was something other than God. They were deceived in thinking that the ritual of reading the scriptures could replace encountering God personally. The fruit of their search, no life in God.

We must make it clear. We are approaching the Bible to encounter a real, living Person. His name is Jesus. He is the Author that lives by His Spirit in us. We must use the scriptures as our primary conversational material with Him. He is our goal. He is our purpose of reading today, tomorrow and so on. We have such a higher goal than completing the devotion, reading the Bible in a year or finishing the chapter. The goal is to have a meaningful, heartfelt meeting with God in the Bible.

I’ve attached some notes that I used when speaking on this subject. I also have the audio version available at the IHOP bookstore if you’d like. The title is “Words of Life.”

Be blessed,

Wes

1. approach the bible rightly

All scripture is God-breathed…(2 Timothy 3:16)

It is the Spirit who gives life…The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)

But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

1. We must approach the Word of God with right understanding, expectation and motive.
2. We must approach our times with the Word as if we’re meeting with a living Person. I make a mental note that I’m having dialogue with God Himself when I read the Bible. His Words are more than historical facts. His Words are present and active today.
3. The Bible contains the very revelation of God. As we read, we grow in thought of who He is. It’s profound that such literature exists; a book that contains information about the Creator of all things, a book that God gave direct inspiration to.
4. We are discovering God when we read! As we read the gospels we grow in profound insight as we watch God relate to humans as a human.

And the Word (God) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory…(John 1:14)

1. I must read the Bible as if it were God’s personal letter to me, because it is.
2. It’s important that we come to the Bible expecting to learn and grow in our relationship with God. In the same way we grow stronger in our relationship with our spouse or a friend after a meaningful conversation so can it be with God. Expect to encounter God.
3. Bible study must create an active dialogue with the Person of God. Scripture gives us the “conversational material” in our talks with God. Using the Word makes prayer easier and more enjoyable.
4. We may not always “feel” the encounter or sense the relationship strengthening immediately. This is normal. In due time the fruit of God’s Word will be seen and felt. Stay the course with faith that our inner-man is being renewed.
5. Each time we say what God says, it marks our mind and spirit and changes us.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…(Romans 12:2)

1. I constantly feel the pressure to get through my Bible plan or to get to the next chapter as if my main motive or goal is to complete the study. Our motive must be to first meet with God and then secondly complete the study. We may need to realign our motive as necessary.

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 You are not willing to come to Me (dialogue) that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

1. It would not be good if my main goal in spending time with my wife were to complete the time with her, to check the box that the time was completed.
2. Christianity is about personally connecting with God through His Son Jesus. It is not a set formula of rituals.
3. The Christian practices are not the goal in and of themselves. The goal is to personally encounter God in the midst of the practices.
4. The Life of his word

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3)

1. The most substantial way in which we bolster our spiritual strength and revive our heart is by feeding on God’s Word. Many are spiritually in the ICU with a sick heart and a diminished spiritual appetite.

Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you

My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word. (Psalm 119:25)

And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32)

1. God’s words are spirit and life. They impart God’s life to us. Each time we say what God says we receive a small impartation of His life that illuminates our mind and tenderizes our heart.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life. (John 6:63)

At this important time in history, God is raising up a movement of young adults and awakening their hearts to intimately encounter Him, that they might give themselves to love Jesus with all their hearts, proclaim His Word to their generation, and bring the kingdom to every sphere of society.

onething regionals exist to communicate these truths to high school and college students everywhere. It is our dream to see thousands upon thousands make the decision to embrace the glory of living a life of one thing, as expressed by King David in Psalm 27:4.

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple (Ps. 27:4, NKJV)”

This year we’ve already had 3 regionals. We gathered just over 1,300 young adults in Orlando, FL in January as we partnered with the Orlando House of Prayer (OHOP), 1,100 in Rockford, IL and most recently 1,500 in Pasadena, CA. Each regional has it’s own unique story as we connect with what God is already doing in that region. We’re constantly encouraged to see how many different congregations and denominations are working together in prayer and outreach. And then to see all of them join efforts in hosting onething and get to serve alongside of them for a weekend is always a tremendous highlight.

Pray for us. We still have a full schedule ahead of us for 2011. We’ll be heading to Nashville, TN next, just over a week away. After that we’re off to Dallas, Detroit, Ohio, New Jersey, Houston and then Raleigh-Durham.

Be blessed.

Wes

Director

onething regionals

We could have a child as early as May. That is crazy.

Pray for us and believe God that His face will continue to shine upon our family.

Amen.

Wes

Look for 12.12 in the future to be an established day in the Christian calendar. This day will soon be an annual time that the church worldwide is intentional about praying for and giving towards the poor and suffering of the earth. My personal commitment is that the 12th of every month I will be intentional to pray the poor in my own community and a specific nation that the Lord puts on my heart. There are several nations already on my heart but I’m asking God to give me insight and a spirit of prayer specifically for one of them.

Hopefully by this posture of prayer for the poor we’ll gain a heart to minister to the poor and truly be people of compassion.

Pray with us.

Wes